An important aspect was learning how to score when the spinners are on, says Vimal

A few days before Tamil Nadu’s final Ranji Trophy league match against Baroda, R. Vimal Khumar was already looking ahead to the next season. When N. Jagadeesan was picked for India A duties, Vimal was drafted in at the eleventh hour. On Saturday, he made full use of the opportunity, striking his second First-Class century of the season.

“It feels really good. I had my plans very clear and tried to implement them. A lot of credit goes to Senthilnathan sir (head coach) and Sai Kishore. They both had a very good conversation with me, which helped,” said Vimal.

The 23-year-old said the work he did with former Tamil Nadu player B. Aparajith — now with Kerala — during the middle of the season played a key role. “I had a long conversation with Aparajith on how to plan my innings. He gave me a few points and technical aspects to work on. Using those, I worked a lot at Chemplast with Ramkumar sir.” The left-handed batter added that one major focus was avoiding getting stuck at one end, something he struggled with in his first season two years ago.

“An important aspect was learning how to score when the spinners are on. Aparajith said I should use my feet more and align with the ball rather than going across. Those things were very simple, but it was a bit difficult to replicate them in my game. I put a lot of hours in it, and it helped,” said Vimal.